CFTC’s Giancarlo: US and Foreign Regulators Teaming Up on Crypto

U.S. regulators are working with their counterparts overseas to combat cryptocurrency fraud, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo said Wednesday.

Speaking during a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing on his agency’s forthcoming budget, Giancarlo said he has spoken about the issue with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), as well as regulators in Europe, according to Forbes.

The collaboration has seen the CFTC working with domestic agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as officials in the Treasury Department, which earlier this year detailed the work being done by a group focused on enforcement issues.

Giancarlo’s reported comments are notable, given the proactive approaches that have been taken by these agencies, with the CFTC itself scoring a win this week when a U.S. district judge ruled that cryptocurrencies are commodities on Tuesday – all but confirming the position it staked out back in 2015.

The hearing notably featured a critique by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) on the attention paid by the CFTC to cryptocurrency issues, which she argued weakens other, more developed markets. Giancarlo responded that would-be investors, particularly young ones, face risks that warrant attention.

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